The Art of Giving
by Sanni-O
Summary: ZoSan / Chopper doesn't want to be the only one receiving gifts on Christmas Eve - so this year Christmas becomes quite a challenge for the Straw Hat Crew when they suddenly have to get a gift for one of their friends they were assigned to by lot. Zoro finds himself in charge of buying a present for the cook and it turns out that he has absolutely no idea about what that could be.


Hello everybody! Isn't Christmas time wonderful? When I woke up yesterday a thought crossed my mind and I sort of had to turn it into a story. The thought was: How can I find the perfect Christmas gift for my family and friends? Personally, I have absolutely no idea but for the story it worked out quite nicely. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Yours, Sanni-O

 **The Art of Giving**

Zoro wasn't particularly fond of Christmas. He didn't dislike it either but this year proved to be a challenge.

Usually, the Straw Hats didn't buy presents for each other. Why? Because it was not necessary. Christmas was the time they celebrated Chopper's birthday so there was no need for making the holidays more than that. This year Chopper had decided that he didn't want to be the only one receiving presents so he had written every crew member's name on a slip of paper. He had put the slips into his head and had made everybody pick one of the slips without looking. The one they had drawn would be the one they would have to find a present for. Of course, they had to keep a secret who they had drawn.

The content smile on the cook's face had been enough of a hint for Zoro to be sure he had drawn either Nami or Robin. Everybody else's faces had been either unreadable or varied from contentment to a deep frown. So since he was the last one to pick his slip of paper he had done so without enthusiasm-choosing presents had never been his forte.

When he had unfolded the paper slip and had read the name of the person he had ended up with it hadn't really surprised him to read the cook's name.

Now, two weeks later, he still had no idea what to get the cook. Fortunately, they were facing an island where he could try his luck in finding a suitable present. Like hell he was going to admit defeat over something trivial as that. Maybe there were interesting books on the island. He didn't want anything about cooking, though. It would be pointless to just pay attention to the most obvious trait of the cook which was being a cook. He wanted it to be more… personal. He wanted his present to carry some meaning. He just wasn't sure what the meaning should be.

Seeking inspiration he headed to the galley. Who if not the cook could give him a hint to what he wanted or needed?

As he entered, Sanji looked up at him and something very close to a smile appeared on his lips.

"Looking for booze again?" he asked with nothing but mild interest in his voice.

"Actually, no. But I wouldn't mind a cup of tea," Zoro said not sure how to approach the subject without being too obvious. "I wanted to ask you something."

Zoro sat down at the bar and waited for Sanji to reply. They didn't talk to each other a lot when there was no one else around but sometimes they did-and Zoro actually liked moments like this.

"It's rare of you to ask about my opinion on something," Sanji finally said and Zoro nodded.

"Most of the time I neither need it nor want to hear it," Zoro agreed shrugging his shoulders.

"Must be important if you suddenly do."

Sanji placed a mug with green tea in front of Zoro, leaving him puzzled about where the hell he had taken it from.

"It's my tea. I didn't drink from it yet so take it while I brew another cup for myself, alright?" Sanji answered his unvoiced question. Once again Zoro noticed how close they were even if it didn't seem like it to anybody else. Zoro nodded again and took a sip of the tea. It was delicious.

Sanji re-filled the kettle with tap water and put it onto the stove.

"So, what did you want to ask?" he questioned lighting a cigarette.

"It's about the present I'm supposed to get. I can't think of something... decent," Zoro tried to describe his current problem.

"I see," Sanji said and went over to the fridge to fetch cauliflower, milk and broccoli from it. "Is the problem the price or the idea itself?"

Zoro watched Sanji fill two pots with water while he added milk in one of them and placed them on the stove to boil the water.

"I don't believe in expensive gifts," Zoro replied taking another sip of his tea, "But I wouldn't mind getting something expensive if would make…," Zoro paused trying to think of the right word to use. "… him happy. I think I can tell you that much."

Sanji smiled at him and this time it was a real, genuine smile.

"I'm glad you didn't pick Nami. It would be awful if I had to help you and Franky in choosing your presents for the ladies."

Which made clear that Sanji had neither drawn Nami nor Robin. Unexpectedly, he didn't seem the least bit bothered by it.

"Back to the point," Sanji went on talking, "I don't think any of us expects expensive gifts. But that still leaves different degrees of difficulty in choosing an ordinary present. The easiest things to get for someone are flowers-which are useless for Christmas. You can always get chocolate but chocolate is nothing special unless you are Chopper. Same goes for jewellery. It's best if you forget about all those things."

For a brief moment Zoro was wondering why the cook had mentioned them if he wasn't supposed to remember them. Then it hit him. He had given him a very direct hint to what to get for Chopper. Nice move. Unnecessary but nice.

"The interesting degree of finding presents is the one you need to pay attention to the one you seek a present for. Books are always perfect gifts if you make sure he doesn't already own it already and the subject is interesting. It depends on the quality of the book shop, though. Same goes for tools and equipment someone might need. If one of my pots was broken-which none is-and you would find me a new one without me having to ask for it would be really nice. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"

Surprisingly, Zoro did. But it wasn't enough. It would only prove that he knew his friends well enough to know obvious things about them. It didn't help him to find something worth the effort-and the longer he listened to Sanji the more certain he was that Sanji deserved it. He had more or less told him that Franky and Usopp needed new tools for their constructions and that Brook would probably appreciate new strings for his violin or bow. Luffy would appreciate anything Zoro would get him. He was probably the least difficult guy to handle aboard the ship.

"You still don't look too happy, marimo. And since you are going to be the greatest swordsman in the world, why not become the guy getting the most impressive gift for Christmas? The most difficult thing to buy for somebody else is clothing. There is a 99 % chance of failure. It either doesn't fit perfectly or he doesn't like the fabric or the colour or something else. There are tons of things you can do wrong." Sanji shrugged his shoulders. "And never try buying shoes for someone. That really doesn't lead anywhere."

Zoro thought about it and a satisfied grin spread on his lips. Challenge accepted. He would get the shit-cook a perfect outfit.

When they reached the island Zoro couldn't believe his luck. It was inhabited and the port town was big enough to host more than one shop for clothes and also many tailors. It really would be a stroke of bad luck if he didn't succeed in getting a decent outfit here. The difficult thing was to get a perfect fitting one. At least that was what he thought.

Standing in the first tailor's shop he had come across Zoro had to find out that Sanji had been right. Perfectly so. There were so many fabrics that he would have to spend a year here to take a look at each of them. And this was only the first shop he had entered. Damn.

A friendly elderly man approached him, a genuine smile on his lips.

"You look lost, young lad," he said and Zoro couldn't deny that he was right. Fortunately, he had been smart enough to sneak one of the cook's suits, of which he knew they fitted him, along and a pair of his shoes. He knew enough about reasonable fashion to consider the fact that the suit would have to match his shoes. Else he would make a fool of himself-or have to buy the cook new shoes. And that definitely wouldn't happen.

"I sort of am, sir," Zoro said as politely as he could. Never had he felt more out of place than now. He had bought and worn fancy clothes before but he had never been to a tailor before. It felt weird. "I want to get a new suit for a friend of mine."

"I see," the man said. "Is he going to join us soon?"

"Well, actually, it's a surprise for him," Zoro admitted and scratched the back of his head slightly embarrassed. This was definitely weird. "But I brought one of his suits-if that is of any help. And shoes."

The old man's face brightened up. "Well, that sure does help a lot." He stretched out his hands to take the bag Zoro had brought with him and carefully pulled out the suit. He curiously looked at it while he spread it on a table and nodded to himself.

"Your friend must really like this suit. It has been worn a lot," the man mused and started rummaging through the shelves. "Do you want the new suit to be black as well?"

"Sure. But make it fancy."

"Young lad, by 'fancy' you mean what exactly?" the other man questioned looking slightly confused. He had every right to be. Zoro didn't really know what he meant himself.

"Alright, I've never done this before, so give me a second to think about what I want. Of course, the suit has to look good on him."

"Why don't we take a seat and you explain what you want over a cup of tea," the old man suggested and Zoro followed him over to a kitchen line and a small table. He sat down and stared at his hands, trying to think of the perfect suit.

"The cook is… handsome. Tall and blonde, my age," he started describing Sanji hoping to get across what he wanted while the tailor nodded in quiet understanding to every detail he mentioned. "He is always well groomed, even his swirly eyebrows, and he has an extroverted personality. He is strong, both, physically and mentally. We fight a lot and I'm sure he'll try and kick my arse in this suit."

The tailor placed a cup of tea in front of him and sat down on the chair opposite.

"You really sound like you get along well," he said and offered sugar to Zoro, which he declined. "You sound as if you want a slim fitting, yet sporty suit. That's quite a challenge but I'm sure I'll manage. I'll make a low collared jacket he can wear over a simple t-shirt. Combined with a waistcoat it will turn into a high class outfit. I suggest making it all black so he can combine everything to the clothes he already owns."

"That sounds great," Zoro said more than impressed. He had never thought about wearing a suit as anything else but a suit.

"What about the details? You said he pays attention to them so do you have anything in mind? Think about it and I'll be right back."

The old man smiled at him and suddenly rose to his feet to pace over to his shelves and picked a black roll of fabric from it.

Zoro thought about it. Details on the suit? He could use them to make it a really personal gift. It was the moment a wave of possessiveness gushed over him. He could mark the cook as his… his what? Just as his sounded nice.

This Christmas shopping sure was affecting him. A part of him knew that it wasn't the real reason, but the main part of him decided to just ignore the nagging feeling inside of him.

"You look as if you have an idea about the details," the man said and showed the black fabric he had fetched to Zoro. It looked like any other black fabric. Trying to understand why he was looking at the fabric he let his fingers run over it. The fabric felt incredibly smooth, yet firm beneath his touch. He wasn't sure if he had ever touched such good quality fabric before.

"This is nice," he said and the tailor smiled at him. "Can you put something green on the suit?" he asked and the tailor nodded.

"I could make the lining green."

"And could you make it with three golden buttons in the front," he tried describing his idea, only noticing that he was touching his earrings when the tailor's smile grew even wider.

"I'm sure I can do that, young lad. When do you need the suit to be finished?"

That was the tricky part. Christmas Eve was tomorrow and Chopper had wanted them to have their presents by then.

"Tomorrow?" he cautiously asked and the tailor nodded.

"I guessed that much. How about you come and pick the suit up tonight after dinner?" the old man suggested and Zoro wasn't sure what to say. The man must be a wizard to sow a suit out of a plain piece of fabric in about six hours. At least in Zoro's imagination sowing a suit had to take a couple of days.

"That would be perfect, sir," Zoro replied and remembered one thing he hadn't thought about so far. "How much will it be? Just so I have enough money on me later."

The sum the man said was way less than Zoro had expected. Like that he wouldn't even have to ask Nami for a loan. He thanked the tailor again and left the shop. All he could do now was wait and see if things worked out properly.

The day had passed by way too quickly and before Zoro knew it he had picked up Sanji's old suit as well as the new one. He had snuck the old one back to where he had taken it from and had placed the new suit-which was already wrapped up in fancy paper-onto his bunk. He couldn't stop staring at it. The old man had been so nice to even tailor a new white shirt for the cook as well. It was ridiculous. Zoro had been so grateful and overwhelmed that the old man had offered him another cup of tea while he explained what exactly he had tailored for the cook. Zoro hadn't understood a word of it. Something about the form of the shirt's collar and the suit's and the waistcoat's whatever.

All he knew was that he liked the suit. The old man had even picked a dark green fabric with swirls on it and the buttons he had chosen were shaped similar to Zoro's ear rings. It was perfect. To a certain extent it was embarrassing, but it was perfect-and now that he had it here, his heart was hammering in his chest. What if it didn't fit? What if the cook didn't like it-because there was a 99 % chance of failure. Especially, with the details. He should have controlled his whims better. But the worst thought of them all was: What if the cook liked the suit? And what if he saw right through it and realised that Zoro was… fond of him.

"Unhappy with your gift," Sanji's voice startled him as the cook entered their bedroom.

"No," Zoro slowly replied. He wasn't unhappy with it. Just nervous. And like hell he would admit that. "I just hope he'll like it, I guess."

"Even a ball of moss would be a great gift coming from you. And a very personal one," Sanji teased and curiously looked at the nicely wrapped gift.

"It's quite big," he stated and Zoro looked at him trying to imagine how the suit would fit him. The warm and fuzzy feeling inside him was back and a thought rushed through his mind just to vanish as quickly as it had appeared. _I love you_. A deep frown appeared on his face as he tried to make sense of his thought. Being fond of the cook was one thing, but in love with him? That was… unexpected. He wouldn't try and deny his own thoughts. If he wasn't able to suppress his feelings then there was no use in denying them.

"I won't tell you what it is," he firmly stated.

"I'll see it tomorrow anyway. Chopper decided to have the presents handed out after dinner. Usopp is running wild upstairs since he hasn't finished whatever he's been doing." Sanji even laughed and the warmth inside Zoro started bubbling in his chest. It was a very strange feeling. Not uncomfortable, just alien to him.

"Why did you come here anyway?" he growled, somehow feeling the need to defend himself.

"I wanted to ask if you cared to set up the Christmas tree with me," was all Sanji said. No word of explanation, no excuses. It was just an invitation.

Zoro didn't reply but rose to his feet and headed to the galley without waiting for the cook. Maybe distracting himself wasn't that bad of an idea right now.

The Christmas tree itself was already put in place, so all that was left to do was to make it look a little more festive.

"Do you know how this is done?" Sanji asked as he entered the galley behind Zoro and raised an eyebrow at him in good-natured mockery.

"I'm not stupid, cook," Zoro replied and started looking through the boxes which were set up on the table. There were tons of pink glitter balls, ribbons, ornaments and fairy lights waiting to be put in place. So, he grabbed the fairy lights and started setting the tree while Sanji made them tea. It felt so homely it made Zoro's skin itch. He knew he would have to do something to get rid of this feeling but didn't know what it was.

After the fairy lights were put in place he started to randomly put glitter balls on the branches. It was like meditating. He didn't have to think about anything while letting his hands run on auto pilot.

Zoro looked back at the tree, then at the table again and then he noticed that he had put almost every damn thing from the table onto the tree.

He hadn't even realised that Sanji had been sitting at the dining table the whole time, simply watching him until he finally spoke up, "Marimo, your tea gets cold."

"Oh," Zoro said and sat down next to the cook where his cup was placed. This time it held black tea with a dash of milk, no sugar-and it really was close to being cold by now.

"You know, Zoro," Sanji suddenly said. "It's funny but somehow everybody aboard the ship ended up talking to me about their Christmas gifts. I think by now I'm able to predict almost every gift which will be handed over by tomorrow as well as the giver and the receiver. But that isn't the fun part."

Zoro just sat there and listened to what the cook had to say. He looked so truly unhappy that Zoro didn't want to rush him.

"I don't have a gift for the one I picked."

Well, that was a big surprise for Zoro. If there was anyone he had been sure would be able to think of a great present it was the cook.

"Do you want me to help you think of something?" Zoro offered, which caused Sanji to chuckle into his mug as he took a sip.

"Thank you, but no. Since I've already got a good impression of what's going to happen tomorrow I don't think it would be the same as thinking of something impressive myself."

"Are the presents really that special?" Zoro asked, feeling slightly uneasy.

"Of course, they are. All of you put so much thought and effort into your presents, it's a shame I can't return the favour."

Zoro put down his mug and turned to face Sanji. "I really hope that you picked me then."

"Why would that be, marimo?"

"Because I appreciate the thought and effort you put into making all of us think of hopefully nice gifts. Without your help I would've been in deep shit."

Sanji smiled brightly at him and pulled another cigarette from the pack. "I know I shouldn't say this, but you really are a great guy."

"Are you grateful enough to cook my favourite food for me tomorrow?" Zoro asked trying to hide his smile by emptying his mug. He wasn't sure if the cook had ever said something equally nice to him before.

"I'll think about it."

Next day's dinner was not Zoro's favourite food. He could tell from the smell which was wafting through the air around the kitchen. It smelled of meat instead of fish-sea king meat to be precise-,and potatoes instead of rice. It smelled great but Zoro couldn't deny that he was disappointed. Also it meant that one of his friends would end up without a gift beneath the Christmas tree.

He paced over to the kitchen and stepped inside. The thought of having to explain the situation to one of their friends while everyone was supposed to be happy was bothering him.

"Cook! We need to talk!" he stated approaching the bar behind which Sanji was supposed to be cooking but now was looking at him in confusion.

"What the shitty hell are you talking about?" he finally asked and stirred the sauce he had been working on.

Zoro took a deep breath and decided that it would be wiser to talk this over without yelling at each other.

"Who did you pick?"

"Why would that matter all of a sudden?" Sanji asked not answering Zoro's question.

"Because it bothers me," Zoro admitted and sat down at the counter.

"And here I thought it bothered you that you think I didn't cook your favourite food."

Zoro just growled in response. That really well hit the nail on its head.

"Rest assured, dear marimo, I did cook your favourite food. The smell of the roasted meat is just covering every other smell." The cook leaned against the work top and lit up a cigarette.

"I don't care about what you cooked! I came here to talk about the presents," Zoro insisted and the look on Sanji's face told him that he had said something wrong.

"You just don't get it," the cook sighed and glared at Zoro, "Do you really think I'd let any of you run into a surprise like getting nothing for Christmas?"

"No, but…," Zoro fell silent. There was no but. He knew the cook well enough to know that he wouldn't do something as that. "You said it wasn't me, so it just kept bothering me."

"I never said it wasn't you."

Zoro looked at him with a frown on his face, trying to make sense of all this. Oh, how he hated riddles.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"Because you said it would be fine if I cooked your favourite meal for dinner and I did. It's not an actual present but I thought it may count as one-since you never told me what your favourite food actually is, moron."

The cook definitely had a point there. Since Zoro tried to be indifferent towards the food he made just to piss him off it may have been a little difficult to actually cook something he liked. He wasn't even sure if any of his friends knew about his favourite food.

"Oh," was all Zoro could say.

"Oh," Sanji agreed and rolled his eyes. "Are you happy now?"

Zoro smiled at him. He was a bit embarrassed about his jumping to conclusions but he was also more than just happy. Sanji had been very subtle in his attempt to prepare Zoro for today, maybe too subtle. But it proved that he cared about Zoro.

 _I love you,_ echoed through his thoughts again.

"I am," he said.

"Then go get the others. Dinner's ready," Sanji ordered and smiled back at him.

Zoro did and one by one they entered the dining hall. Every single one of them was emitting an aura of joy and excitement Zoro could understand only too well.

Sanji dished out dinner and placed a plate in front of everyone but Zoro.

"Due to the circumstances," Sanji suddenly spoke up, "I must insist to be the first to hand over my present. Else the marimo won't get any dinner."

"Why does Zoro get special dinner?" Luffy asked frowning at the roasted meat on his plate he hadn't shovelled down yet. "Is it better than ours?"

"I don't think there can be better food than ours," Franky said, "This is super!"

Chopper nodded and said, "Give him your present, Sanji. I really want to know what you cooked for him."

Sanji put a plate with white rice and sea king meat in front of Zoro, accompanied with a glass of ale. It wasn't fancy food. It wasn't anything extraordinary. They ate sea king meat all the time, but Zoro couldn't stop staring at it. It was plain, boring, and his favourite.

"Thank you," he said smiling at the cook.

"I cooked it with an extra amount of love," Sanji teased, causing butterflies to thrash through Zoro's stomach.

"I really appreciate that," he said and started to eat, ignoring the shocked faces his friends made. He was acting weird and he knew it. But he was too happy to care. The food was great and the beer was one of the best the cook had handed to him in ages.

"Now I want presents!" Luffy yelled and tried to grab one of the presents from beneath the Christmas tree but Nami stopped him with just a glare.

"Wait till everybody's done eating," she said and Luffy pouted, "You are no fun at all, Nami."

It didn't take long for them to finish eating and Chopper was the first one to receive his present. Luffy was thrilled to hand him a gift wrapped in screaming pink fancy paper. It held a huge variety of pink candy and sweet as well as a book about local herbs this island hosted and a glass full of something that looked like grass to Zoro.

"I picked some of the herbs for you already," Luffy explained the grass and Chopper tightly embraced him, crying with joy. As a result, Luffy was the next one to receive his gift. Usopp had made a variety of super high tech fishing rods for him. Some of them were for huge and strong fish, others were for flying fish and others were for normal fish. They were brilliant.

Next in line was Robin to hand her gift to Usopp. It was a variety of local sniping weaponry and a manual on their usage. Understandably, Usopp was delighted.

When the turn was on Franky to hand his present to Robin he was slightly embarrassed and Zoro could understand him only too well when Robin unwrapped a beautiful gown. It was of a dark purple colour and was decorated with bluish black dices which resembled poneglyphs. It was a perfect choice in Zoro's opinion and he could very well imagine how the cook had been involved in this present. After all he knew everything there was to know about the measurements of the girls. For a moment Zoro wondered if Franky was in love with Robin or just driven by the thrill of getting her one of the most difficult presents possible-like he had started out before realising that there was more to it. Robin left for the infirmary to put on the dress and when she returned Zoro had to admit that it suited her perfectly.

The one in charge of Franky's gift had been Brook who had gotten him a golden necklace. It was an unusual gift among men, but Franky was moved to tears when he noticed that it stated _super_ in big curvy letters.

It was the same with Brook when he opened Nami's gift for him. It was a map she had drawn for him, which was leading the way back to Laboon, the whale and dear friend he had left behind more than fifty years ago.

Chopper had created a tangerine perfume and tangerine soap for Nami and she loved it. It was a mystery to Zoro how Chopper could survive the fierce hug she had pulled him in.

Finally, Zoro understood why Sanji had been so impressed by the presents he had expected them to make. And finally, it was Zoro's turn to hand his present over. All eyes were on him and he felt like running away for a second. But the feeling subsided as quickly as it had built up. He took his present and handed it over to Sanji who was smiling at him again.

"That really is a big present, marimo," he said and his eyes shone with anticipation.

"Unfortunately, it's not a giant moss-ball," Zoro replied slightly nervous.

"That's a shame. I was so looking forward to it."

Sanji pulled the ribbon open and undid the fancy paper just to stop in the middle of his movement as his gaze fell on his actual present.

"Are you completely mad?" he breathed and let his fingers run over the fabric just as Zoro had done.

"Sanji! What is it?" Luffy wanted to know.

"It's something black," Usopp said trying to peer over the paper.

"It's a suit," Brook corrected him looking over Sanji's shoulder.

"A suit?" Franky asked and the look he gave Zoro spoke volumes. At least it answered Zoro's question of Franky's interest in Robin. He really liked her.

"Try it on, Sanji," Nami suggested smiling at Sanji who was still staring at the suit in front of him. Zoro could see that his mind was racing and when he came to a conclusion he glared up at Zoro.

"Seriously?" he asked in a dangerously low voice. "You bought a shitty fancy suit for me and dared to ask for a shitty bit of rice and sea king meat in return? Are you kidding me?!"

That wasn't exactly the reaction Zoro had hoped for. And, truth be told, he couldn't really tell whether Sanji liked the suit or not.

"Do you like the damn suit or not?" Zoro growled back at him and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Sanji grabbed the pile of clothes and hissed, "I swear if this suit fits I'm going to shove my foot so far up your arse you can taste the leather!"

"I guess that means yes," Robin stated giggling while Sanji stomped off to the infirmary to try on the suit. He threw the door shut behind him and everybody's attention snapped back to Zoro.

"You bought him a suit, bro?" Franky asked still unable to process the information he had just received.

"Yeah," Zoro replied unsure of what else to say.

" _A three piece?!_ " Sanji's angry voice echoed from behind the shut door. " _What the hell, you moron?!_ "

"I guess it was a stupid idea," Zoro said and rubbed his face with his hands.

"I think he really likes it," Luffy tried to reassure him with a big goofy grin. "Why else would he be so worked up about it?"

"There are many reasons, Luffy," Usopp started explaining but didn't get very far, "I myself was chosen once to pick the clothes for an emperor…"

The door of the infirmary was opened and Sanji leaned against the door frame, wearing the slacks, the waistcoat and the white shirt. He hadn't fully buttoned the shirt up so his collar bones were still visible. As far as Zoro could tell, all of it fit perfectly.

"Marimo, come here for a second," he said, his voice was not giving away any emotion. Zoro took a deep breath and paced over to the infirmary. Sanji grabbed his collar, pulled him in and slammed the door shut behind him again. He didn't say anything but just looked at Zoro, a troubled expression on his face.

"You hate the suit, right?" Zoro finally said scratched the back of his head.

"Actually, I think it's exquisite. But I don't understand it," Sanji replied and strolled over to the bed where the suit jacket lay and ran his hand over it. "I know I suggested buying clothes-but I didn't think you'd go that far. I would have understood a necktie-but this… it's something you'd buy for a lover." Sanji looked up at Zoro and frowned a little. "Especially the way you did it is way too personal to be a joke."

Zoro didn't know what to say. It wasn't meant to be a joke.

"This feels more like a confession," Sanji said and slipped the suit jacket on.

Silence fell between them while Zoro took in the sight. The suit looked good on the cook and the fact that he liked it made Zoro dizzy with joy. He smiled and stepped closer to Sanji. He straightened the collar of the suit jacket and rested his right hands on the cook's chest, right above his heart.

"It wasn't supposed to be a confession," Zoro quietly said, his eyes focused on the dip between Sanji's collar bones, "But… I guess it is."

"That's good to know," Sanji hummed. He gently grabbed Zoro's face and pulled him in for a soft kiss. "For a second I was worried I was imagining things."

 **The END**

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. I wish you all merry Christmas!

Please feel free to review.

Yours, Sanni-O


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